128 South Main Street
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
1-800-777-0068
In 1803 Lorimier's Trading Post was the largest and most well known trading post between St. Louis and Memphis. Traders, Native Americans, and local residents came to the post to either buy or trade for needed goods. On November 23, 1803, Lewis Meriwether and members of his expedition stopped by Lorimier's trading post for supplies and to visit with Lorimier and his family. The Red House Interpretive Center is a replica of a French Colonial style home built for the Cape Girardeau Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commemoration to commemorate the visit of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to the community in November 1803. The Center also commemorates the life of the French-Canadian trader, Louis Lorimier who was Cape Girardeau’s founder. The Center consists of three rooms, each covering a different aspect of life at the turn of the 19th century. The first room is Lorimier's Trading Post which displays trade goods items that were recorded in Lorimier's estate papers in 1812 when he died. The second room is decorated as Lorimier's home might have been when Meriwether Lewis spent the evening dining with the family on November 23, 1803. The third room is the Girardeau room and contains eight interpretive panels depicting Lewis & Clark's visit, the four members of the expedition who returned to Cape Girardeau after the expedition, the settlers in the area, French Colonial house construction, African Americans, Native Americans, rivers, road and transportation, and Louis Lorimier. The Red House Interpretive Center is a Certified Lewis and Clark Trail Site.
The Lewis and Clark Connection
On November 23, 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived at Cape Girardeau, a trading post established in 1795 by Louis Lorimier, the Spanish-appointed Commandant of the Cape Girardeau District. Here, Lewis, co-commander of the expedition, left the keelboat to pay an official visit to Commandant Lorimier. The remaining party, under the command of Clark, who was feeling ill, continued upstream about two miles and camped on a point of land that was the site of Lorimier's original trading post, which was probably constructed in 1793. Lewis would have dinner with the Lorimiers after “The Comdt. pressed me to stay to supper which I did, the lady of the family presided, and with much circumspection performed the honours of the table.”
Visit our special Lewis and Clark Section to learn more about the Corps of Discovery’s experience during their stay in the Middle Mississippi River Valley. greatriverroad.com’s special coverage includes information on all of the region’s sites and events as well as supplemental articles relating to the expedition’s experience during the winter of 1803-04.
Visiting the the Red House Interpretive Center
April - September
Saturdays: 1 pm - 5 pm
Call to schedule a group tour
There is a small admission fee to visit the Red House Interpretive Center
Learn more about the community of Cape Girardeau